


Close The Space Between Us

by halfjoker



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discord: Knife Shoes Appreciation Society (Figure Skating), Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Naked Cuddling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:43:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23640472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfjoker/pseuds/halfjoker
Summary: Yuzuru and Nathan reunite after a long time when they couldn't see each other. They decide to make it up to each other.
Relationships: Nathan Chen/Yuzuru Hanyu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Close The Space Between Us

**Author's Note:**

> Because we all need a little pointless fluff in our lives.  
Big thanks to [noona96n](https://archiveofourown.org/users/noona96n/pseuds/noona96n) for listening to me complain about this for way too long and betaing this baby!  
The title is from Favourite Place by All Time Low, which is a lovely song and you can listen to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dr27fyqc0o)!

Yuzuru and Nathan. According to the press surrounding them, they might as well be superhuman; two mortal enemies, polar opposites in their strategies, and every competition that either of them skates in boils down to comparing him to the other one. When compared to others, they seem almost untouchable. But when they shed the shells of world-class athletes and world records, they are just two vulnerable red-blooded men with scars on their bodies and aches inside them, who actually aren't enemies at all.

So when they find themselves in a darkened room together, wrung out and ready for a break, they wordlessly agree to help each other cast away their burden. They make sure the door is locked, their phones are silenced and the blinds are drawn, that no one will intrude on their precious time to reunite. Yuzuru sits down against the headboard and beckons Nathan to sit in his lap. His hand lightly reaches around Nathan's hip, the other brushes up the back of his neck. Before Yuzu can start pulling him closer, Nathan drops his arms to his waist and leans into him first, nuzzling into his collarbone. Yuzu tightens their hug and presses a soft kiss into the curls tickling his jaw.

They sit there for a moment, breathing each other in, feeling the radiating body heat. There is a sense of familiarity that brings comfort. A sentence mumbled into Yuzuru’s neck breaks the blissful silence.

“I missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” Yuzuru whispers back, slowly stroking up and down Nathan’s back, “it just isn’t the same as seeing you in my computer.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s been tough. I can’t touch you through Skype.”

Yuzu’s eyebrow quirks up and he can’t hold back a giggle. “Oh, you want to touch me? How often?”

It takes Nathan a moment before his brain catches up with his mouth and registers the innuendo. He lightly hits Yuzu with his fist as he sputters, “Noo, shut _up_! I just want a hug from time to time man, I’m not horny all the time.”

Yuzu doesn’t stop teasing him, but gives him a quick reassuring squeeze. “You sure? Even when you look at me?”

“I mean… you’re really hot, but I really don’t spend all my days thirsting over you, sorry. Will you get mad at me for saying that?” Nathan lifts his head with a playful smirk on his face to look Yuzu in the eyes.

"Hmm..." Yuzuru pretends to think it over. "No. Now come here," he leans in and pecks him straight on the lips. Nathan’s cocky grin mellows out into a happy, content smile, before he returns the kiss. It’s soft and gentle, warming him up from the inside. The muted hum tells him that Yuzu is enjoying it too. After spending so much time apart, being in physical proximity feels almost foreign, like a dream too nice to believe it. But here they are, in a tight embrace, touching and feeling the heat radiate from each other. They are finally kissing, finally as close as they yearned to be for months. The rush it gives Nathan is intense. He hears a heartbeat reverberate inside his head and he is not sure if it’s Yuzu’s or his own. It doesn’t matter.

The kiss deepens as Yuzu flicks his tongue forward and caresses Nathan’s bottom lip, eliciting a pleased sigh. They could do this for hours. In an ideal world, Yuzu wouldn’t be opposed to spending an entire night like this. In an ideal world, he would stop the time for everything but the two of them and give his boyfriend all the affection he deserved, which in Yuzu’s opinion was as much as he could physically handle.

The fingertip gently trailing just underneath the hem of his shirt reminds him how good it feels to be… loved? His mind trips on the word. Is it love? Is it desire? Is it his need to be touched? He remembers that when he was single, he had some kind of idea of what love was. But now, even after being involved with Nathan for quite a while, he isn’t sure if this love aligns with the things he knew before. He has to hide his feelings so well from everyone that he almost managed to hide them from himself too.

When the second finger slips under his shirt, it feels so good that it makes his eyelids flutter. His heart kicks a little harder than usual. He never got this kind of reaction when Kikuchi-san gave him massages, and he liked him a great deal too. As his fingers crawl up into the longer, curlier strands of hair on Nathan’s head, he is happy to conclude that the right word is indeed love. He is loved by his boyfriend, whom he loves very much in return. His boyfriend is competitive as hell and he does incredible things on the ice. His boyfriend is called Nathan and he’s sitting in his lap right now, kissing him with enthusiasm and letting out little moans of satisfaction.

He breaks the kiss but holds Nathan’s head close, just far enough that he can properly focus on his face.

“I love you,” he whispers, suddenly overcome by his feelings.

“I love you too,” Nathan whispers back, just as smitten. He brings their foreheads together, nudging Yuzuru’s nose with his. They both close their eyes, basking in the easy intimacy.

Yuzuru’s hands shift to lift Nathan’s hoodie over his head. It lifts the shirt with it, but that gets stuck halfway. Nathan looks down and snickers at his shirt unevenly revealing the lower half of his stomach, with the hem sticking out for no reason. He sits back a little, so Yuzu can watch as he finishes the job and slowly peels the shirt off. When Yuzu runs his hands up his sides, his skin immediately prickles with goosebumps. Every touch is much more intense when there is no fabric between them. As the caresses roam around Nathan’s body, he leans forward and cups his boyfriend’s jaw to kiss him some more. They keep their pace down, they’re already tired and there is no need to hurry. There’s always tomorrow.

Nathan continues to stroke down Yuzu’s body, sweeping over the shoulders, tracing the curve of his waist and hips. He is so gentle with him that it tickles a bit. Yuzu is almost relieved when he finally feels him grip the bottom of the shirt and tug upwards. He arches his back and raises his arms to help. It pops over his head, messing up his hair. He must look funny, because Nathan chuckles at him and reaches out to smooth it back down. He’s taken aback by a sudden yawn and he covers his mouth with the other hand, which still has Yuzu’s shirt wrapped around it. Yuzu can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous that is.

“Oh, are you tired?” he asks softly, with a hint of concern.

“Exhausted,” Nathan answers with a grimace, finally throwing the annoying ball of fabric onto the floor.

“Hmm, me too. It’s late.”

“Yeah. And today’s been rough. Time for bed, maybe? Because otherwise I’m gonna fall asleep on you like this.”

“Sounds nice, actually,” Yuzu smiles and plants a kiss to Nathan’s cheek.

“I don’t think your back is gonna like that in the morning.”

Yuzu scowls at that and sighs. “Fiiine. Bed time, then.”

Nathan gets up to get the rest of his clothes off, Yuzu following suit. Unlike with shirts, hoodies, or jackets, taking off each other’s pants is always a clumsy affair, no matter how they do it or how loose the bottoms are. They stopped trying after that time when Nathan thought it would be hot to wear tight jeans. Yuzu had to give him that, it was incredibly attractive, but pulling them off was a disaster they would never want to experience again.

Yuzu insists they need to brush their teeth before going to sleep. Even if they can barely walk straight from the exhaustion. They tiptoe on the cool tiles of the bathroom and make faces at each other in the mirror the whole time they are there, deliriously cackling.

When they come back to bed, they unceremoniously crash into it and burrow in the sheets. Yuzu immediately wraps his arms around Nathan to pull him close, seeking warmth, but also the feeling of his skin on his own. Nathan happily complies, tucking his head between Yuzu’s jaw and neck, lazily kissing the skin there and firmly enveloping Yuzu’s waist. The heartbeat pulsing under Nathan’s cheek grounds him and the regular rhythm makes him even sleepier. He draws little mindless patterns on Yuzu's back with his finger. He drifts off as Yuzu slowly brushes his fingers up and down in the groove of his spine, tracing each little bump and dip. It seems like years since the last time they could do that.

They fall asleep clutching each other as tightly as they can, legs tangled together, at peace and safe, as lovers do. Right now, there is no space between them for heroic backstories or legacies, both followed and carried forward. There is just the warmth of their bodies, their shared dreams and the very human need for intimacy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want to talk to me, [I have a CC!](https://curiouscat.me/jokerfics)


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